California likes to brag about its robust environmental laws, writes local activist Woody Rehanek, but it rarely talks about the troubling pattern of pesticide use and public health. A September “People’s Tribunal on Pesticide Use and Civil Rights in California” helped illuminate disparities in exposure. It also highlights problems in our state’s decentralized regulatory system, which allows county agricultural commissioners to wield unchecked power. A proposed solution, Assembly Bill 652, aims to establish stronger rules to hold the Department of Pesticide Regulation accountable for these practices.
Health & Wellness
Posted inOpinion from Community Voices
The Santa Cruz music scene is great, but the volume might be giving you hearing loss
Electrical engineer and part-time drummer Ron Green has a suggestion for his fellow musicians: Bring the volume down. He says his ears often ring when he leaves shows, which does not bode well for long-term hearing health. “It seems impossible to attend a live music show without the use of some sort of ear protection,” he writes. “This does more damage than most people realize.”
Posted inWatsonville / Pajaro
New CEO Gray says he plans to make Watsonville Community Hospital ‘one of the best in the country’
Watsonville Community Hospital’s new CEO, Stephen Gray, says he aims to transform the facility into one of the nation’s top health care institutions. Gray, who takes over Nov. 1, said Thursday that he plans to address the hospital’s financial struggles and prioritize the happiness of staff and patients. He believes the hospital has the potential to make a significant impact on the health outcomes of the surrounding communities, which rank among the least-healthy populations in the country.
Posted inPolitics & Policy
Child care is dropping off a federal funding cliff. What it means for California families
Federal child-care funding is expiring, which could send providers spiraling. California will probably avoid the worst impact because of efforts to backfill funding.
Posted inLatest News
Watsonville Community Hospital board approves 4-year, $640,000 annual contract for new CEO Stephen Gray
Watsonville Community Hospital’s governing board approved a four-year contract Wednesday for its new CEO, Stephen Gray. The current Sutter Bay Medical Foundation top executive will take over Nov. 1. Gray’s contract includes a base pay of $475,000 along with multiple incentive bonuses if the CEO hits annual goals set by the board, a $35,000 signing bonus and a 12-month severance package.
Posted inK-12 Education
‘Kids are having to use their deadname’: Students say gender policies make schools feel unsafe
New policies requiring schools to notify parents if a student is gender-nonconforming are seeping into campus culture in ways some students find dangerous.
Posted inOpinion from Community Voices
Anderson Cooper is helping me understand grief — and podcasting
Lookout columnist Claudia Sternbach has fallen for Anderson Cooper. His podcast, anyway. On it, he unpacks his grief at the death of his famous mother, the heiress and fashion trendsetter Gloria Vanderbilt, and the suicide of his brother, Carter. Like most people in their 70s, Sternbach has lost loved ones and has become accustomed to carrying her grief with her. “The older we get, the more we lose,” she writes in this latest column on aging. “And yet, as we continue on, we are expected to carry more. More memories, more grief, more tools to deal with said grief. We fill up a virtual backpack with it all and just keep walking as the load gets heavier.”
Posted inWatsonville / Pajaro
Sutter executive Stephen Gray chosen as new CEO of Watsonville Community Hospital
Watsonville Community Hospital’s governing board is set to vote next Wednesday to appoint Stephen Gray as its next CEO. Gray is the current chief administrative officer and operations executive for Sutter Bay Medical Foundation – Santa Cruz Division.
Posted inPolitics & Policy
California Planned Parenthood employees unionize, say they’re overworked as abortions increase
Planned Parenthood clinics in Southern California saw a sharp increase in abortions after the Supreme Court struck down Roe vs. Wade. Now, workers at the clinics are creating a union.
Posted inHealth & Wellness
Updated COVID vaccine to hit Santa Cruz County providers within weeks following FDA approval
The Food and Drug Administration approved the newest COVID vaccine booster Monday, and it is expected to become available in Santa Cruz County by the end of September. The Centers for Disease Control recommends the shot for all Americans aged 6 months and older.